A Tale of Two Grangers
by NctrnlBst
Summary: One Shot: Mr. And Mrs. Granger talk about their daughter while watching Hermione try to teach Ron and Harry how to ski during Christmas break.


One of the things that I wanted to do with this story was show how Hermione's parents delt with her being a witch. Also, Hermione is a strong female character in the books, and I wanted to give a glimpse as to where she gets that from.

Insert funny worded, grammatically incorrect disclaimer here:

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A Tale of Two Grangers' 

The snow was gently falling over a secluded ski lodge, and vacationers of all ages were joyously frolicking in the fresh powder. People lined up, patiently waiting to get onto the ski lift that would take them to the stop of the slope. Inside the lodge Mr. And Mrs. Granger sat at a table in front of a large window overlooking the beautiful snow covered mountain. They had just come in from an afternoon of skiing, and were now warming themselves over steaming cups of coffee.

Mrs. Granger was attentively reading a newspaper while Mr. Granger was content looking out the window at the many novice skiers on the beginner's slope. He was paying particular attention to three young adults in particular, his daughter Hermione, and her two best friends Harry and Ron. After spending several summers with Ron's family at the Burrow, the trio decided that it would be fun to spend Christmas with the Grangers.

Hermione's father watched as his daughter helped her friend Ron who was having quite a difficult time balancing on his skis. Harry on the other hand was a different story. Even though he had never seen a pair of skis before in his life, he got the hang of them fairly quickly. He was by no means ready to tackle any black diamond runs, but after the first few days, he had easily conquered the bunny slope.

Ron had fallen yet again, pulling Hermione down with him. Mr. Granger could see Harry laughing at them and his daughter no doubt giving him an exasperated look. Seeing his daughter with such good friends who obviously cared about her was a comforting thought. He was glad when he was finally able to meet the famous Harry and Ron whom she constantly talked about. Knowing that she had such loyal and trustworthy friends put him at ease every time he had to send his only daughter back to Hogwarts every year. Yet, he couldn't help but feel sad about seeing his little girl grow up so fast.

The war was over, and thanks to his daughter's memory charm, which sent he and his wife to Australia, they were spared the anguish of worrying about their daughter while she was on the run with her two friends. Thankfully, they came out of it alive, and were now about to make their own ways in the world, magical or otherwise.

"Darling," said Mr. Granger.

"Yes Dear?" replied Mrs. Granger from behind her newspaper.

"Well, what do you think about her friends Larry and Don?"

"Harry and Ron dear."

"Oh uh Y-Yes. They seem like a nice boys don't they?"

"Well, they certainly keep Hermione on her toes," says Mrs. Granger, again hidden behind her newspaper.

"Wouldn't it be nice to have a house full of kids?"

"Your getting a little ahead of yourself aren't you?" chuckled Mrs. Granger. "I'm not looking forward to babysitting magic wielding grandchildren just yet; if that's what you're getting at."

"N-no, I mean that I just miss having kids around. When Hermione was away at Hogwards all year…"

"Hogwarts Dear."

"Oh, uh yes dear, Hogwarts. Well, It's just that since she was eleven years old, she's spent more time at school than she did at home. Even now that she has finished school, she's still learning more magic everyday. The more she learns about magic, the more I wonder if we'll have anything to offer her in our simple miggle lives"

"Muggle Dear."

"Yes Muggles, Yes," stammers Mr. Granger. "I know that there is nothing we can do. She's going to grow up whether we want her to or not, but I'm just worried that sooner or later, she'll get bored with muggle life."

"Don't be silly dear, she's not going to get board with us and leave," said Mrs. Granger, turning to another page in the newspaper.

"Well, what about that boy she was seeing Viktor-Viktor Krunck."

"Krum dear" Mrs. Granger's paper rustled.

"Oh uh y-yes dear. I mean if she's dating young wizards, then that means that she'll marry a wizard someday, and we'll lose her to magic forever."

"That's a little extreme isn't it? She went on one date with a boy. I don't think that she's ready to start picking out wedding dresses… although we already know what the bride's maids are wearing," teased Mrs. Granger who shot her husband a wicked smile over the top of the newspaper.

An instant of terror shot through Mr. Granger who was not ready to even contemplate the thought of walking his little girl down the isle. "I don't have anything against magic darling, it definitely has its usefulness. Still, I wouldn't mind it if she settled down with a nice ordinary boy."

"You mean safe." chirped Mrs. Granger

"What do you mean safe?"

Mrs. Granger put down her newspaper, and looked at her neurotic husband. "Every father is afraid of eventually losing his little girl. Your fears are simply compounded by the fact that aside from the risk of losing her to boys, you are going to lose her to magic as well." Mrs. Granger says matter-of-factly. "And now add on to this the fact that there was a magical war going on, so you want her to marry a muggle because you think that being a muggle is safer than being a wizard. You are just going to have to realize that someday your little girl is going to be all grown up."

Mr. Granger sat in shock upon hearing his wife's astute and rather analytical diagnosis.

"Look," said Mrs. Granger as she took her worried husband's hand with in hers. "I know that this magic thing has you worried. Even though I may not show it, it scares me too. I was terrified every time we get an owl with a message from Hogwarts. I kept worrying that every message will be the 'one'. But after what happened to her in her second year, I made a decision to not let fear run my life."

Mr. Granger could feel his wife's hands shake slightly.

"Nothing would have made me happier than to pull our daughter out of Hogwarts and sent her to an ordinary, boring muggle school where we don't have to worry about giant snakes, evil wizards, werewolves, or whatever other nightmarish things that went bump in the night. The one thing that gave me solace was the knowledge that at least at Hogwarts, she learned how to bump back. Besides do you really think that she would have been happy at a muggle school? Would you have been willing to sacrifice our daughter's happiness for a little peace of mind?"

Mr. Granger looked at his wife awestruck realizing that she had put a lot more thought into this then he had even fathomed.

"No matter what, she will still be your little girl. She'll still need her daddy when her heart is broken… and oh yes, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but she will get her heart broken, and nothing is going to change that. Honey, all we can do is just be there for her, and support her no matter what. Have you looked at her recently? I mean really looked at her. She has faced things that witches and wizards twice her age have never even imagined, lived to tell about it. Our daughter helped to save the world! And, on top of all of that, she's grown up into a beautiful young woman."

Mr. Granger didn't know what to say… What could he say after that? He suddenly realized how ridiculous he was being. Nothing productive came form worrying about things that he had no control over. All that it would do is cause him to worry even more.

He looked in admiration at his beautiful wife, and remembered why he loved her. She always knew just how to put him in his place while putting him at ease all at the same time. "You're not going to charge me for this session are you?"

"Of course I am. It's going to cost you that red handbag from the boutique in the lobby," joked Mrs. Granger before going back to her paper.

Mr. Granger glanced out the window again and pondered his wife's assessment. He looked over at the beginner's slope and watched contently as poor Ron was lying on the ground with his skis up in the air, flailing about like an over turned turtle. Although the fresh powder made for softer landings, it made it difficult to dig yourself out if you had fallen. The thought had occurred to him that it was strange how Ron was having a difficult time learning to ski. He couldn't imagine flying around on a broom. Yet if you could balance yourself on a broom, then balancing on a pair of skis should be easy. Mr. Granger thought.

Harry and Hermione had stopped to help Ron back to his feet, and were slowly guiding him down the slope. Mr. Granger suspected that his daughter drew a great deal of pleasure watching her red haired friend struggle down the mountain. She had told him how Ron found it hysterical that muggles would strap planks of wood to their feet and slide down snowy slopes. He had a feeling that part of the reason that she invited him was to teach him a lesson. There was another part of him, however, that suspected that she had another reason for inviting him.

Harry and Hermione were close, but she was different with Ron. There was definite affection between them, but Mr. Granger could tell that there was something there that neither Ron nor his daughter were able or willing to recognize… just yet anyway

"I think that I'll take the kids some hot chocolate," said Mr. Granger.

"I'll come with you," added his wife, putting aside her paper.

"N-No, you can stay here and relax, I can handle it," said Mr. Granger has he stood up.

Mr. Granger made a quick stop at the coffee cart and bought three hot chocolates for his daughter and her two companions. He zipped up his ski jacket, and headed out into the chilly cold. He made his way towards Hermione who was waiting for her two friends near the ski lift.

"Hi Dad," said Hermione cheerily as she accepted the warm cup from him. She let out a little chuckle as Ron had just fallen for the umpteenth time. Harry was helping him up while Hermione and her father looked on.

"So, Hermione…"

"Yeah Dad," replied Hermione who was still watching Ron and Harry intently.

"So, you got yourself some good friends there sweaty."

"Yeah, Harry's a great friend."

"What about that Donald boy?"

"Ronald Dad."

"Yes-Yes. Well, what about him?"

"Oh-uh, well…" Hermione stammers as she ponders where exactly this question was leading. "He's a… Friend."

"He must be a very good friend if you invited him to come along on this skiing trip?"

"Dad!?!?!" Hermione's face flushed a bright red.

"What?!?! Can't a father inquire about his daughter's friends? So, have you two gone out yet?"

"D-da…" Hermione squeaked before losing her footing, and falling into the snow with her feet unceremoniously up in the air, which drew howling laughter from Ron and Harry.

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I hope that you enjoyed this story, and please don't forget to review. 


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